Freight forwarders take grouses with Customs to PM
Regina LeePublished: Apr 27, 2011 5:31 AM | Updated: Apr 27, 2011 8:49 AM
The drawn-out battle between the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Customs Department has spilled over to those in the freight forwarding business.
The drawn-out battle between the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Customs Department has spilled over to those in the freight forwarding business.
MACC’s probe on Customs personnel has also meant that it is keeping a close watch on forwarding agents who work closely with the department’s officers.
And this, the agents claimed, has slowed down bona fide business in imports and exports.
In a letter to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, the Airfreight Forwarders Association of Malaysia appealed to him to “kindly look into the manner in which the investigations are being carried out so as not to jeopardise the business community in Malaysia”.
“Whilst we appreciate and support the efforts taken by the MACC to weed out corruption, we were also made aware by some forwarding agents that the commission had treated them unfairly including the freezing of their bank accounts while investigations are ongoing,” said chairperson Walter Culas.
“The freezing of the bank accounts has had a severe impact on their operations as they are now unable to make payment of salaries and even to maintain their daily operations such as making payment for fuel and toll (charges) for their trucking operations.”
He further said that MACC officers have demanded the names of Customs officers who they have “bribed”.
This, according to him, has resulted in a dip in morale among Customs assesment officers who are now reluctant to handle customs declarations from forwarding agents for fear of repercussions.
“This has a corresponding effect in that both imports and exports ... have slowed down and the consequent delays in imports have impacted the bona fide businesses in delays in their production lines,” said Culas in the letter, a copy of which was made available to Malaysiakini.
Strained relations
The MACC conducted the ‘Ops 3B’ to investigate the loss of RM2.2 billion in duties, setting up a dragnet on the Customs Department and nabbing 62 people last month.
MACC-Customs relations were severely strained when Selangor Customs deputy director Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed (left) was found dead at the MACC's Federal Territory headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on April 6.
The freight forwarders then staged an angry protest against both the Customs Department and MACC over the death of “their favourite officer”.
MACC’s probe on Customs personnel has also meant that it is keeping a close watch on forwarding agents who work closely with the department’s officers.And this, the agents claimed, has slowed down bona fide business in imports and exports.
In a letter to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, the Airfreight Forwarders Association of Malaysia appealed to him to “kindly look into the manner in which the investigations are being carried out so as not to jeopardise the business community in Malaysia”.
“Whilst we appreciate and support the efforts taken by the MACC to weed out corruption, we were also made aware by some forwarding agents that the commission had treated them unfairly including the freezing of their bank accounts while investigations are ongoing,” said chairperson Walter Culas.
“The freezing of the bank accounts has had a severe impact on their operations as they are now unable to make payment of salaries and even to maintain their daily operations such as making payment for fuel and toll (charges) for their trucking operations.”
He further said that MACC officers have demanded the names of Customs officers who they have “bribed”.
This, according to him, has resulted in a dip in morale among Customs assesment officers who are now reluctant to handle customs declarations from forwarding agents for fear of repercussions.
“This has a corresponding effect in that both imports and exports ... have slowed down and the consequent delays in imports have impacted the bona fide businesses in delays in their production lines,” said Culas in the letter, a copy of which was made available to Malaysiakini.
Strained relations
The MACC conducted the ‘Ops 3B’ to investigate the loss of RM2.2 billion in duties, setting up a dragnet on the Customs Department and nabbing 62 people last month.
MACC-Customs relations were severely strained when Selangor Customs deputy director Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed (left) was found dead at the MACC's Federal Territory headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on April 6.The freight forwarders then staged an angry protest against both the Customs Department and MACC over the death of “their favourite officer”.
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